Pay-Per-View Video Streaming: What It Is and How It Works [2022 Update]
Have you ever needed to access the internet in a cafe or restaurant? It could be an urgent message, location information, or an email you’ve been waiting on. What usually happens when you walk into a cafe and ask them for their WiFi password? They ask you to first purchase something from their menu before granting you access to their internet connection.
That might seem like a win-win situation. You get limited-time access to a facility you need, and the cafe makes a sale. That’s exactly what pay-per-view video streaming is. It’s a win-win situation on the video streaming and video-on-demand frontier.
Pay-per-view video hosting is a way to monetize your content and generate a new revenue stream for you. For your viewer, it’s a chance to sample the type of content you’re offering without committing to a full subscription.
Creating video content is not free or even cheap. Whether marketing content, educational videos, or entertainment, it takes days of planning, recording sessions, and editing to put good quality content out there that adds value to its viewers.
There are many avenues available that can help monetize your content and get more returns on your investment.
One popular method for monetizing your video content is pay-per-view video streaming. With pay-per-view, viewers are paying to access a specific piece of content.
Pay-per-view is often used for one-time events, such as:
- Sporting events
- Concerts
- Conferences
It is often used for events that, if hosted in person, people would pay to purchase a ticket to the event.
Professional video streaming platforms make it easy to host, create, and monetize pay-per-view events virtually. Pay-per-view events are often live streamed, but you can also create and monetize pre-recorded content, known as videos-on-demand, using pay-per-view monetization methods as well.
Pay-per-view events also allow you to share content seamlessly without having to depend on advertisements that interrupt the content for revenue. Pay-per-view provides another way, outside of using advertisements, to make revenue from your content or event.
Today, we will walk you through how pay-per-view video hosting works. Then, we will explain a few things to consider when setting up pay-per-view streaming. We’ll share some tips to help you reach your broadcasting goals.
To wrap things up, we will take a look at a few of the top pay-per-view video platform options on the market.
Please note that pay-per-view platform technology changes regularly. By updating the post with PPV video hosting steps and adding a pay-per-view platform comparison, this post reflects the most accurate information as of September 2022.
What is Video Monetization?
Make money with your content using pay-per-view, subscriptions, or ads.
Let’s start by reviewing what video monetization is. The various strategies used for generating income from any video content you produce are called video monetization. Whenever a viewer watches your videos or downloads them, you get paid.
Each pay-per-view hosting provider gives it’s content creators a different percentage of revenues generated from their videos. These numbers can also vary depending on which video monetization models you utilize.
Most professional broadcasters use one of the three following:
- TVOD: transactional video-on-demand, also known as pay-per-view
- SVOD: subscription video-on-demand
- AVOD: advertising-based video-on-demand
Even though each of these advertising methods contains the term “video-on-demand,” they can also be used with live streams. Each of the three primary video monetization methods serves a different purpose and is valuable for various reasons.
Pay-Per-View Video Streaming: How does PPV work?
Pay-per-view streaming is very straightforward for both broadcasters and viewers.
Pay-per-view video hosting allows you to make money by charging for access to a specific piece of content. There are multiple ways to charge for pay-per-view content. You can allow viewers to “rent” the content for a set number of hours. Or you can allow viewers to “buy” the content, giving them unlimited access to that content.
With pay-per-view monetization, you don’t have to run advertisements on your content. This can allow you great control over your viewer’s experience.
With pay-per-view monetization, you use an integrated paywall to collect payment. It is a very easy way to generate revenue.
One of the biggest challenges with pay-per-view video hosting is having a well-developed video monetization strategy.
How to Price Pay-Per-View Video Content
There are many different ways to charge for pay-per-view video content hosting on a video platform. The type of content can also impact what you charge.
Access to a Singular Video
If you are trying to charge for access to a specific video, we recommend starting low, charging around $2 for one to two days of access. You can also upsell, offering one-day access for $2 or unlimited access for $8.
This allows you to make more money from people who don’t want the pressure to access and use your content in a set amount of time. Many viewers find this more valuable.
Access to a Special Event
If you are charging for a special one-time event, such as a concert, play, or conference that’s normally held in person, you may want to base what you charge on the in-person event’s price.
Keep in mind that most people expect to pay less for virtual access.
So if you have an in-person event that you are charging $50 for, you would want to charge $25-$30 for virtual access to the event. That way, you can earn while reducing the expense of hosting people while still providing value to your customers.
Access to Educational Content
Educational content has been gaining traction with the masses ever since Covid-19 shut down universities and schools around the globe. You can sell access to a series of video courses that teach a specific skill. For an educational event, you will price based on market value for that educational content. You will want to research what others charge for similar courses and price your course competitively.
General Pricing Guidelines:
When it comes to pricing and access to pay-per-view content, there are a few general guidelines you should follow.
- Make the access longer than the content: If the content is two hours long, give people at least four hours to view the content. Access should be at least double the run time of the video. That way, if a viewer has technical issues viewing the content or gets interpreted and has to return to the content, the access is long enough to allow for that.
- Be clear about access time: Second, you need to be clear about how long someone has access to the content. It should be easy for your viewers to know what they are purposing, when they can access it and how long that access will last.
- Compare pricing: Third, you should research your competitors and make sure that your pricing is competitive and offers a higher value.
You may have to adjust your pricing, and that is okay. You must find the right price point for your audience and your business. That can take some trial and error.
What is Pay-Per-View Video Hosting?
PPV video hosting is made possible with the help of professional OVPs.
Pay-per-view video hosting enables you to charge users every time they access your content. This requires the support of a streaming platform with TVOD monetization capabilities. You will need to invest in a professional solution because free platforms like YouTube are not equipped with pay-per-view hosting tools.
Professional streaming solutions range from less than $100/month to more than $1000/month. Which you choose will depend on your budget, streaming goals, and the features you need to make those goals a reality.
Mslive is a great solution for broadcasters that need pay-per-view hosting support. Our platform makes it easy to set up TVOD monetization in a few simple clicks. We also support AVOD and SVOD, so you have the flexibility to modify your monetization strategy if you see fit.
Our platform is one of many professional video hosting tools available. We invite you to check out our streaming platform comparison post to see how Mslive stacks upagainst pay-per-view hosting solution like Livestream, Brightcove, IBM Cloud Video, and more.
How to Create a Pay-Per-View Video Website
If none of the options above are clicking, you can always DIY your pay-per-view hosting solution by creating a pay-per-view website. Do keep in mind, though, that this approach is definitely more challenging than signing on a pay-per-view hosting provider that does the hard work for you.
Creating your website is now simpler and requires less of a financial commitment than it used to in the past. Launching your website might be the next step if you’ve out-gown popular hosting platforms and want to scale up.
We don’t recommend setting up your pay-per-view video hosting website if you’re less experienced and just starting out. In that case, selecting a pay-per-view video hosting platform will be the safer bet.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how you can create a pay-per-view website:
1. Choose the video provider: The first step is to select a video provider that matches your requirements. You should look for scalability options, the level of security they offer, and their charges.
2. Choose your domain name and website host: Your website’s URL will contain your domain name. Make sure you select one that best represents your brand and vision. Next, research and select your website hosting service based on its speed and content management capabilities.
3. Set up WordPress for pay-per-view video hosting: This will include integrating your video player and website and adding any necessary plug-ins.
4. Set up your pay-per-view video hosting platform: The last step is the configuration of PPV settings. You can now select a currency, upload media, set a price, and fill in any other details for your viewers.
The work isn’t done yet, you still have to fill in all the pages on your website and create media content. You can even schedule video streaming for later or release free video clips for viewers to catch their interest.
Conclusion
Pay-per-view video hosting is valuable for broadcasters who want to monetize their video content without distracting ads. It is generally quite easy to set up with the help of comprehensive PPV hosting software.
For further information on the process of setting up this monetization method, we recommend checking out our pay-per-view video walkthrough. Once you have a Mslive account, your customers can be streaming PPV in a matter of minutes.
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